Ava DuVernay to Bring New Series CHERISH THE DAY to OWN

OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK announced today that Ava DuVernay, award-winning filmmaker and creative force behind the network's critically acclaimed drama series "Queen Sugar," is bringing her next series to OWN.

With a straight-to-series order, DuVernay will create and executive produce "Cherish the Day," an original anthology series from Warner Horizon Scripted Television as part of her recently announced overall deal with the studio. Oprah Winfrey will executive produce alongside DuVernay for a winter 2020 premiere on OWN.

Additionally, DuVernay has set acclaimed filmmaker Tanya Hamilton ("Queen Sugar," "Night Catches Us") as executive producer/showrunner. Hamilton will direct the series premiere. DuVernay's longtime producing partner Paul Garnes ("Queen Sugar," "Selma") will also executive produce the series.

Each season, the anthology series chronicles the stirring romance of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The season-long narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday.

"OWN is home. I'm honored to create television for a network headed by an artist with spectacular vision and unbridled passion for the stories that we want to tell," said DuVernay.

"Ava is a visionary storyteller. She brings so much care, so much heart, so much love to the art she creates," said Winfrey. "I'm excited to continue collaborating together with our very first anthology series for OWN."

"Cherish the Day" will join OWN's programming slate of popular dramas including "Queen Sugar," "Greenleaf," "The Haves and the Have Nots" and "If Loving You is Wrong" - four of the top 12 original scripted series on ad-supported cable in 2018 for women 25-54 and the top four original scripted series on ad-supported cable for African American women and total viewers. In addition, OWN will premiere two new anticipated drama series in 2019 - "Ambitions" from box office hit-maker Will Packer and "David Makes Man" from Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney ("Moonlight").

"Cherish the Day" is produced for OWN by Forward Movement and Harpo Films in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, Tanya Hamilton and Oprah Winfrey are executive producers.

Winner of four Emmys, the Peabody Award and the BAFTA for Best Documentary, Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay is a writer, director, producer and film distributor. She directed the award-winning historical drama "Selma," which garnered four Golden Globe nominations and two Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and was the first African American female director to cross $100 million-dollars at the domestic box office with her Disney fantasy epic "A Wrinkle in Time." DuVernay's Academy Award nominated "13th" was one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2016. She is executive producer of OWN's hit drama "Queen Sugar," and the upcoming CBS series "The Red Line." Additionally, DuVernay recently wrapped production on the anticipated limited drama series "When They See Us" for Netflix, serving as executive producer, director and writer.

DuVernay wrote, produced and directed the dramatic feature, "Middle of Nowhere," which earned her the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Best Director Award. In 2010, she wrote, financed, produced and directed her first narrative feature, "I Will Follow," after making her directorial debut with the cult-classic hip hop documentary, "This is the Life." She has directed several network documentaries and commercials, including "Venus Vs." for ESPN, as well as branded content for Prada, Fashion Fair and Apple. Additionally, she directed "August 28: A Day in the Life of a People," a short film commissioned by Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

DuVernay is the founder of ARRAY, a grassroots distribution and advocacy collective dedicated to the amplification of films by people of color and women which was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. In 2017, DuVernay was named one of Fortune Magazine's 50 Greatest World Leaders. DuVernay sits on the board of Sundance Institute.

Acclaimed filmmaker Tanya Hamilton has directed numerous high-profile drama series for television including "Queen Sugar," "Greenleaf," "The Chi," "Vampire Diaries," "Berlin Station," "American Crime," as well as the upcoming series "Godfather of Harlem" and "Seven Seconds." Her award-winning first feature film "Night Catches Us," a portrayal of former Black Panthers reuniting in 1976 Philadelphia, which she produced, wrote and directed, was in competition for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize in 2010, received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, a Black Reel Award nomination and an Athena Film Festival award for directing. Her first project, the short film "The Killers," won high praise at the Berlin International Film Festival. Hamilton is currently a fellow at the Sundance Screenwriter and Filmmaker Lab.

Film and television producer, Paul Garnes ("Queen Sugar," "Underground"), has served as a producer and line producer of films and television series for Disney, Dreamworks, HBO, ABC, NBC, BET, Sony/Screen Gems, Magnolia Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. Paul is best known for his work on the 2014 film "Selma," which was nominated for the 2015 Academy Award for best picture and best original song and won a 2015 Golden Globe Award for best original song. In 2012, he produced "Middle of Nowhere" for Ava DuVernay, which won the 2013 Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. Additionally, he recently wrapped production on Marvel's season two of "Cloak and Dagger," and produced TBS' anticipated limited comedy series "Miracle Workers" created by Simon Rich and starring Daniel Radcliffe, and Steve Buscemi. Garnes is executive producer of OWN's "Queen Sugar."

OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand and the magnetism of the channel. OWN is a leading destination for premium scripted and unscripted programming from today's most innovative storytellers. OWN's original scripted series include popular dramas "Queen Sugar," "Greenleaf," "The Haves and Have Nots, "If Loving You is Wrong" and upcoming drama series "David Makes Man" from Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney and family saga "Ambitions" from box office hit-maker Will Packer. OWN's Saturday night unscripted programming lineup includes "Iyanla: Fix My Life," "Ready to Love," "Love & Marriage: Huntsville," "Black Love" and "The Book of John Gray." OWN connects with its audience wherever they are, inspiring conversation among a global community of like-minded viewers on social media and beyond. Launched on January 1, 2011, OWN is a joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery, Inc. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform Oprah.com. Access OWN anytime, anywhere on WatchOWN.tv or across mobile devices and connected TVs.

A division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Horizon Scripted Television was founded in 2006 and is one of the entertainment industry's leading producers of dramatic and comedic programming for the cable and subscription/on-demand marketplace. Series produced by Warner Horizon Scripted Television include Animal Kingdom and Claws for TNT; Cherish the Day, David Makes Man and Queen Sugar for OWN; Fuller House, Medical Police and You for Netflix; Krypton for SYFY; Pennyworth for EPIX; Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists for Freeform; and The Right Stuff for National Geographic.

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